Petrobras Forks Over $820M To Settle Texas Refinery Fight

Law360, New York (July 2, 2012, 3:53 PM EDT) -- State-owned Petroleo Brasileiro SA will pay Belgium-based Transcor Astra Group $820.5 million for a 50 percent stake in a jointly owned Texas refinery, ending a four-year dispute that spawned at least four U.S. court cases and an international arbitration, according to a settlement announced over the weekend.

The agreement gives Petrobras 100 percent control of the Pasadena Refinery System, which operates an oil refinery and a crude oil supplier in Pasadena, Texas.

But that stake will now cost the Rio-based company $180 million more than if...